Cheap Flights Australia

Being open to alternatives to your preferred travel dates will increase your success rate for stumbling upon a discount airfare.

If you must travel on a certain date, chances are that you will pay more.

With any other products that you buy you expect to receive better value when you pay more. But not with airfares.

When you travel in economy class you receive the same service whether you were lucky to find a cheap fare or had to pay an arm and a leg.

And prices do vary, sometimes there are several hundreds of dollars difference between the lowest and the highest price in the same class. So it is worthwhile to book early.

Cheap Flights Australia - Start Planning Early

Airlines sell their cheap seats on a first come, first served basis. So the good, old rule for finding cheap flights to Australia is to start planning for your travel at least 4 - 6 months before you go. Sometimes up to a year in advance, when airlines release "early bird" fares.

However, booking 11 months before your travel may not always be a good idea. Circumstances can change. One example is the global financial crisis. No one could have forecast one year in advance that airfares could go as low as they did during 2009. But then world economy did not improve too much, however airline prices increased.

Some airlines are issuing early bird rates with a forward guarantee. They state that if you have booked the early rate and they would offer a better one any time before your travel, they would extend that better rate to you. If you see such a guarantee and are sure that you want to travel then grab the offer.

Cheap Flights Australia - Keep Things Simple

To keep your travel plans simple, stick to the most direct route, don't add additional places to stop over for a visit, use only online booking, don't use call centres. Any of these would incur additional charges:

adding an additional flight to the direct one, comes with a cost, even if the ticket gives you this option;

if you want to interrupt your travel for a night or two and visit the city where you are catching a flight connection, you will pay airport taxes plus there may be additional fees for breaking the journey;

speaking to a call centre will also make the fare higher, as airlines have to cover the costs of employing more customer service staff.

So once you have made up your mind to travel at a certain time of the year, and have a straightforward travel plan, start searching for cheap airfares and adjust your dates so as to get the best possible bargain flight to Australia. Keep things in perspective though: with long haul flights, bargain does not mean really cheap, it means you can get a better deal and save some money by planning and being organised.